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View Full Version : Hobby business - I spend more than I make!



SilverBlueberry
02-11-2009, 07:49 AM
Is that something you other hobby business people recognize? I tell myself I'm still building up my supplies, but I just keep on needing more things. I'm not even done buying tools, since I'm moving from just metal clay to metal clay plus silversmithing. Other than that I mostly buy stones and supplies like earrings (have to start making those myself), jump rings, wire and metal clay.

It's a good thing I like making jewelry so much, so all this spending is at least good for something. ;)

Rustic Charm
02-11-2009, 07:57 AM
i'm just the same, i think i need this and that and that and i want that!!! maybe one day it will actually make up the money for me that i've spent out!! lol!!

SilverBlueberry
02-11-2009, 08:06 AM
Phew! I'm not the only one. Yesterday I said I would stop buying stones for a while, since I have so many, and a few hours later I bought 10 or so. Ahem.

bustagasket
02-11-2009, 08:34 AM
i really wouldnt like to work out how much i have spent on jewellery stuff since i started in may this year, but i know it must run into the thousands. I dont suppose i will ever recoup the expenses, and can only pray that one day i might actually start to sell stuff and therefore claw back a little of the money :D

AniccaJewellery
02-11-2009, 10:13 AM
I do the same, then freak out and have to do a mad round of trying to sell everything, then it all starts again!

Gemma
02-11-2009, 10:18 AM
Sounds like me too!
As long as you're enjoying it though then there's nothing wrong with it. You wouldn't expect money back from other things you enjoy...like watching films or taking loooooong bubble baths!

MuranoSilver
02-11-2009, 10:54 AM
Yep whatever you spend at least you'll get some back
& tools last a lifetime ;)
Nic x

Ominicci
02-11-2009, 11:23 AM
I'm glad to hear that as I was starting to despair as well. (And my original input into the 'business' account is finally starting to dwindle. The reality of having to start making money is finally starting to hit home lol)

lorraineflee
02-11-2009, 12:45 PM
Oooo Buying tools, yeh! I love buying new tools! My theory is that I should buy everything I want while I am still earning and then I'll have loads to play with when I finally retire completely!
Lorraine

snow_imp
02-11-2009, 01:26 PM
I'm having the same problem having just started making sterling silver chain maille I'm buying in the rings - big outlay for only a small bracelet it feels like!

Haven't entirely sorted out how to do the selling bit yet but I hope to get organised relatively soon.

lesley
02-11-2009, 01:30 PM
La la la, I'm not listening and I'm definitely not thinking about it!

agent_44
02-11-2009, 02:51 PM
Hehe, I started off purely as a hobbyist but registered as self employed to cover my back when i did sell the odd item. Because I was always making a loss with my jewellery and working full time as well I kept gettting income tax rebates, so it's not all bad :D

caroleallen
02-11-2009, 05:37 PM
I don't think you ever get to the point where you have everything you covet.
I've got a fully equipped workshop but have still spent over £4,000 on equipment this year, then there's displays, website updates, promotional materials, packaging materials, advertising, craft fair costs, materials etc etc etc. The list is endless. When I work out my income, it seems massive until I take out my outgoings and find there's very little left. Christmas had better be good :(|

The Dragon
02-11-2009, 05:48 PM
My theory is that I should buy everything I want while I am still earning and then I'll have loads to play with when I finally retire completely!

Have to agree with you there I'm trying to buy the more expensive items now, while I'm in full time work - this is my investment into my business. Hopefully when I'm a poor struggleing artist :'( all I'll need to folk out for is supplies and hope I sell enough to cover this.!

Coco
02-11-2009, 05:55 PM
I love buying stuff but I think my computer's onto me. Every time I visit cookson's site lately it shuts down!

SilverBlueberry
02-11-2009, 06:06 PM
Gemma, good point in that you don't get money back from other things you enjoy. ;)

Boo
02-11-2009, 07:40 PM
I started off doing it as a hobby, purely because I enjoyed it. I'd been treated as having arthritis for all my life and avoided things that were hard on my hands. Then I found it was a soft tissue problem that would benefit from exercise, so decided to have a go as I'd always wanted to do more metalwork.

At first I just spent money on materials and tools and produced things for gifts and myself - and it cost money and I got no return. My husband said it didn't matter as long as I was enjoying it and spent within our available funds. Then the odd person asked me to make something and were prepared to pay me, so I did a few local craft fairs and now I was getting some money back to plough into more materials. It's just snowballed from there, but it wasn't overnight.

I think this is the first year where I've sold a lot more than I've spent. Largely because my husband was out of work earlier this year, so we need every penny for bills and food - our financial situation is precarious at present. So I've been very disciplined and only bought what I need, not what I want, since April.

shelliem
02-11-2009, 08:34 PM
Ditto the spending and I haven't made anything yet!! Everytime I start I realise I need something else and I find it really difficult to start a project unless I have everything I need! or I ruin the little amount of clay etc. that I have.

But its paying me back in dividends in helping me to relax and stop psychoanalysing everything!!! If I'm just analysing jewellery I can cope with that and I love sparkly things they make me smile :D

snow_imp
03-11-2009, 07:08 AM
But its paying me back in dividends in helping me to relax and stop psychoanalysing everything!!! If I'm just analysing jewellery I can cope with that and I love sparkly things they make me smile :D

I must admit that the end result always makes me smile no matter how long it took to get there or how much I swore at it during the making of it - makes it all worth while. :~:

lilacmonkey
07-11-2009, 07:01 PM
i've had this problem for a while.stones,stones and more stones.
never happy unless i'm buying stones.
i spend hours looking at one particular site based in oz looking at opals(droll).
which is bad for the pocket.

SilverBlueberry
08-11-2009, 02:20 PM
Lilac, I recognize that. I always buy more stones. I tell myself I have enough for a while and should use what I have but I'm always buying new ones that strike my fancy. And when there are things I can't really find (like amber beads in the shapes, colors and sizes I want - why does it have to be so hard to find good amber??) I get obsessed.

lilacmonkey
08-11-2009, 03:05 PM
why does it have to be so hard to find good amber??)

right find yourself a good polish friend.and when they go home get them to send you some rough.its dead easy to shape and polish.
you can find it on the beaches of the baltic sea believe it or not.

stu g

mochiandmocha
10-01-2010, 05:10 PM
Phew...it feels good to hear you guys! ^_^ So we're not alone!
Just an example of the latest frustrations:
local shop wants to sell our stuff only if we bring the display cabinet and have better-looking boxes!!
Anyway, before we can really pay our bills with what we make there'll always be the odd supply teaching day to help!^_^

nickr
21-02-2010, 10:04 PM
I think nearly everyone starts out like that, for years I sold a few bits I had made that were surplus and then I decided it was going to be my future so I set up a company by informing the Inland Revenue (HMRC now) and opening a business bank account and put in some working capital. For the first 2 years I made a loss which was offset against my income tax from my job but that allowed me to keep account of where the money was going and made it possible build up a stock and to calculate my gross profit margin and net profits. I now pay HMRC online and it is running smoothly and for me without debt because I made those calculations when I made that big step. Next year I will have to make NI contributions as I have been exempt so far (too low an income from the business and paying via employer) and probably will have to register for VAT in a couple of years as well. That will be a more painful step as it means massivly reduced margins or higher prices.
Keep a spread sheet of your costs and income.
I find that repairs are the hardest thing to keep control of as they take time and produce very little money but make a lot of potential bigger spending customers happy. I would suggest a table of charges but dont use one myself as I know that my existing customers would have a heart attack to see the prices go up so much but one should be slightly harder nosed about it. Maybe soon.

NickR

agent_44
21-02-2010, 10:08 PM
Would registering for VAT cause you that much of a problem? Yes, you'll have to charge it to your customers, but you wont have to pay for it on any of your costs.

SilverBlueberry
22-02-2010, 12:17 PM
Hmm. I kept track of all my sales and expenses until my computer got stolen, including my back-up hard drive, and since then I have bought a lot of new things and not kept track of anything. Now I dread starting again..